Pt-Ir/TiC Electrocatalysts for PEM Fuel Cell/Electrolyzer Process

Electrocatalysts for the bifunctional oxygen electrode for a PEM fuel cell/electrolyzer process need to be active and stable toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this work, Pt-Ir was synthesized supported on TiC and studied as a viable candidate to use as an oxygen electrode. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were performed to measure electrochemical activity and compared with supported Pt and Ir on TiC, as well as commercial forms of unsupported Pt and Ir. It was determined that Pt-Ir on TiC outperformed the other electrocatalysts studied with a round trip efficiency of 65%.